You already know about our hobbies, but here’s another angle: the books, movies, and music that inspire (or obsess) us lately. We asked our team to share some recommendations, ranging from hidden gems and rediscovered classics to recent fascinations. Here’s what they said, honestly and without pretensions:
Carla Fotea – Producer
Books: Carla has recently enjoyed Fragil by Simona Goșu and Claire Keegan’s Small Things Like These and Foster.
Films: She was particularly struck by Albert Serra’s Afternoons of Solitude.
Music: Recently stuck in her head is the Thai song “Made in Thailand” by Carabao. Yes, the one featured in the latest season of White Lotus.
Ioana Bogdana – Development Manager & Junior Producer
Books: Ioana has been on a binge, reading all of Mihnea Mihalache Fiastru’s books over the past couple of months. Her absolute favorite was Expres.
Films: At the Rotterdam Film Festival, she enjoyed several films from the “Focus: Through Cinema We Shall Rise!” section. Her top pick? The charming communist romantic comedy-musical Five Golden Flowers (1959) from China. As for series, she’s been really into Korean reality TV shows lately.
Music: Ioana recently rediscovered Kendrick Lamar’s To Pimp a Butterfly, which is now her go-to soundtrack at the gym.
Cristina Ivan – Office Manager
Books: Cristina enjoys pretty much anything by Radu Paraschivescu.
Films: Cristina doesn’t really vibe with recent films. She prefers classics, especially those with great stories or nostalgic value, like old-school Disney animations (Aristocats, 101 Dalmatians, Beauty and the Beast, Snow White, Anastasia) or beloved classics such as Mary Poppins, The Sound of Music, Dirty Dancing, and Pretty Woman.
Music: Cristina’s favorite music is anything by Queen. Freddie Mercury still has the best voice ever, period.
Ada Solomon – Producer & Company Manager
Books: Ada’s recent favorite remains Ce am învățat de la Graham Greene by Andrei Gorzo. Other Romanian books that stuck with her include Fontana di Trevi by Gabriela Adameșteanu, Mărioara Voiculescu. Mareșala teatrului românesc by Alina Nelega, Ana Maria Sandu’s Hortensia Papadat Bengescu. Străina, and Ioana Maria Stăncescu’s debut novel Tot ce i-am promis tatălui meu.
Films: Ada finds it nearly impossible to choose favorites, but among Romanian classics, she loves the works of Lucian Pintilie and Alexandru Tatos. Internationally, her top 2024 pick is Conclave by Ed Berger, and one of her all-time favorites is Alejandro González Iñárritu’s Birdman, a film she could watch endlessly. She’s also into TV series like Big Little Lies, Fargo, and Mindhunter. Her current guilty pleasure: anything featuring Cunk (Cunk on Earth/Life/…everything!).
Music: Ada’s musical taste is rooted firmly in her younger days: Kate Bush, Sting, Joe Jackson, Björk, Peter Gabriel, Eurythmics, The Police, B-52’s, Duran Duran, and The Specials. She admits her love for cinema’s “new wave” probably stems directly from this Anglo-Saxon new wave era.
Diana Caravia – Producer
Books: Diana recently surprised herself by entering her “non-fiction books era,” after previously avoiding the genre entirely. She was profoundly inspired by Everybody: A Book About Freedom by Olivia Laing (a gift from director Paula Oneț). Currently, she’s reading Greater Than the Sum of Our Parts: Feminism, Inter/Nationalism, and Palestine by Nada Elia which is an incredibly eye-opening book and strangely easy to read for such a tough topic.
Films: Films that have recently blown her mind include Smoke Sauna Sisterhood by Anna Hints and Animal by Sofia Exarchou. And although it’s a different mood altogether, Diana admits she has a soft spot for zombie movies. She recently watched the Spanish film Rec and loved it.
Music: Right now, Diana’s into “angry chicks” music – think Patriarchy or X-Ray Spex.
Marc Solomon – Editor & Technical Supervisor
Books: Marc struggles to finish novels (rarely getting past page 40), but finds poetry, short stories, and essays far more approachable (and finishable).
Films: Marc admits he’s been continuously haunted by Orson Welles’s The Magnificent Ambersons since first watching it two years ago. Few films stick with him like that.
Music: The album he can’t shake is CoH plays Cosey by CoH with Cosey Fanni Tutti, which even influences how he approaches editing. He’s especially drawn to music based on sampling or bricolage-style constructions.
Edi Alex Mustață – Production Coordinator
Books: Recent reads that made an impression on Edi are Every Man Dies Alone by Hans Fallada and The History of Bones: A Memoir by John Lurie.
Films: He admits it’s tough to narrow down choices, but among recent favorites are Alice On & Off by Isabela Tent, Bird by Andrea Arnold, and Mohammad Rasoulof’s The Seed of the Sacred Fig.
Music: Edi enjoys a wide and eclectic mix: experimental sounds (free improv, electro-acoustic, noise), gritty funk, modal jazz, outernational beats, and timeless dad-and-mom bangers.
Karina Bărbulescu – Financing Coordinator
Books: Karina’s recent favorite is Call of the Crow Quartet by Alanna Peterson.
Films: A film that particularly stayed with her lately is Walchensee Forever, directed by Janna Ji Wonders.
Music: Her current musical favorite is Cojo.